11 Things IoT Solution Providers Should Know

11 Things IoT Solution Providers Should Know

An exclusive QuinStreet Enterprise survey of IT and business professionals finds that projects relating to the IoT are becoming a priority.

Familiarity With IoT

A full 75% of executives say they understand IoT concepts either "very well" or "pretty well." That compares with 64% for IT staff and 62% for the business side. App developers trailed at 55%.

IoT Momentum

Nearly half (49%) identified IoT as either important or critical to their future growth strategies. Six in 10 large enterprises already have or have plans to adopt IoT within the next two years. Even those in companies with no plans for IoT still admit (32%) that IoT is worth exploring further.

IoT Adoption Rate

While 15% describe themselves as early IoT adopters, another 14% say they are on track to deploy IoT solutions within a year. A quarter (25%) say they will deploy IoT solutions within two years.

IoT Impact

A full 70% say they expect the impact of IoT to either be huge or considerable.

Primary Motivation for Investing in IoT

The pursuit of innovation is cited most often (20%), followed by just plain curious about the possibilities (15%).

Primary Drivers of IoT Adoption

Who are the drivers of IoT adoption? IT and operations teams in tandem is cited by 26%, followed closely by IT alone (25%) and corporate (24%). In 43% of early adopters, business leaders are the primary drivers of their IoT initiatives. Yet 57% of early adopters perceive IT as the "leader" or "collaborator" with other groups.

Benefits of IoT Investments

Enhancing customer experience was cited by more than half (57%), followed by increased operational efficiency (52%) and cost efficiency (50%).

Obstacles to IoT Adoption

Security concerns topped the list of obstacles to adoption, at 43%, followed by competing initiatives that are considered a higher priority (42%). Cost concerns came in at 38%.

Third-Party Data Agreements

A full 41% of early IoT adopters note they have already put third-party data sharing and integration agreements in place.

Maturity of IoT Policies

41% say they have a clear set of defined policies in place for managing IoT data. Another 46% say they are working on developing these policies.

Build vs. Buy for IoT

Only 40% plan to develop most components in-house for their IoT initiatives. The other 60% cite reliance on external consultants, software business partners and hardware vendors.

Demand for professionals with expertise in the Internet of things (IoT) is expected to rise dramatically as more organizations begin to realize its potential business impact. In a new survey of 603 IT and business pros conducted by QuinStreet Enterprise, publisher of Channel Insider, six in 10 said they will rely on external expertise and vendors to drive these projects. Only four in 10 plan to build their own IoT solutions. Better still from the perspective of the channel, only 15 percent of the respondents describe themselves as "early adopters" and nearly four in 10 plan to deploy Internet of things solutions within the next one to two years. This represents a significant opportunity for solutions providers to capitalize on the emergence of IoT technology. Of course, the degree to which they can profit from these projects remains to be seen. However, the more involved IoT solution providers become in managing these offerings on an ongoing basis, the more likely it becomes that the return on IoT investment for the channel will eventually prove to be quite significant. Here's a look at key findings from the study.